The Panthers, no strangers to big matches as they won league last year, reached the Northern Section final and beat PV all four times the teams met in 2011, played their best as the sets wore on while the Vikings found things easier in the early portion.

It also didn't hurt Chico to have the best player, either.

Stephanie Ovitz rallied the senior-laden Panthers in the first set when a pumped up Vikings squad led by as much as 9-2 at Varley Gym.

Ovitz had a kill off an Amanda Manning assist to get Chico within 16-12. Another Ovitz kill made it 17-13, and yet another got the Panthers to within 18-15.

The last one put her on the service line, and Ovitz delivered three service points to tie the set at 18.

"She's such a force," said Chico coach Chuck Johnson, who with his favorite baseball team, the San Francisco Giants, playing in a must-win playoff game Tuesday finally let himself inquire how the Giants fared once the Panthers' match was over. "She's kind of like (Matt) Cain and (Madison) Bumgarner. She's the big horse who goes out there and does what we need."

Ovitz led the Panthers (17-9, 2-0 Eastern Athletic League) with 11 kills. Ovitz had two solo blocks, as did Kelsey Hughes and Gracie Chrisco. Ovitz also had three aces.

"She was the best player on the court," PV coach J.J. Mitchell said.

Chico got its first lead at 21-20 on a PV error, and Ovitz delivered another kill for a 22-21 advantage.

The Vikings' Ashley Geiger, one of two sophomores in the Vikings' starting lineup, answered with a kill from the left side to tie the set for the third time, this time at 22.

Chico kept at it, this time with Allysa Barrett slamming a pivotal kill, putting the Panthers ahead 24-22.

Then Ovitz — who else? — finished off the set at 25-23 for Chico with a kill.

"We dug deep, got our heads in it and pulled it out," Ovitz said.

The Vikings were primed from the get-go as Nicole Efseaff had five assists, and Sydney Stanley had four in the opening set. Jaylee Waddell had six digs.

And PV (8-9, 1-1) had its chances in the second set as well as it led 7-4. But the Panthers and Vikings showed how intense the rivalry between crosstown rivals can be.

Back and forth the two went with neither gaining much on the other in a set that saw eight ties, the last at 19.

Courtney Holloway had kills to tie it for PV at 14-14 and 16-all.

But just as the Vikings took a 19-18 lead, errors began to plague PV and helped Chico run off six straight points with Mari Thomas serving.

Lily Justine, one of two freshman on the PV roster, had a kill for a sideout to avert set point for PV, but only momentarily. A serve into the net gave Chico the 2-0 advantage.

"We really need to push through those last five to 10 points," said junior Kacy Stadtmiller, a middle blocker for PV.

The third set was more of the same at first with six ties, but none past 8-all as Chico asserted itself as Thomas slammed down a kill for an 11-8 advantage. A kill from Barrett, one of six she had on the night, put the Panthers up 16-11. And Ovitz delivered one from the middle at 19-15.

Holloway had a kill to get PV within 23-19, and the two teams played an extended rally that ended in a PV point, trailing 24-21.